This summer, four young women from Vermont served as camp counselors at Camp Guggenheim in New York. Vermont Catholic visited the camp and caught up with them during some of their precious free time to learn more about the camp and their experience.

Lucia and Rafaella Bind-Matarazzo are sisters from Charlotte. Lucia is a junior at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, and her sister Rafaella is a sophomore at Providence College in Rhode Island.

Lucia shared, “When people are here they are acting and presenting how God intended them to be. You see and truly know who you actually are.”

All four young women agreed that Camp Guggenheim is a very warm and welcoming place for every kid. Lucia recalled that one camper shared with her that he did not feel like he fit in at his school, but that “here I feel loved.”

Lucia also shared that two younger boy campers talked to her recently about feeling called to the priesthood. “People get stirred up here and it (vocations) comes up. There are some staff members this year who are discerning.”

Camp Guggenheim is widely regarded in the Diocese of Ogdensburg as being a hotbed of vocations. Our camp escort, Darcy Fargo, the director of communications for the diocese, stated that, “In our diocese, the seminarians will talk of this camp as a big piece of their formation.”

Being a counselor at any camp is hard work, with early mornings, late nights, and not much downtime. But the four young women each felt it was incredibly rewarding. Lucia joked about how the counselors say they are “running on coffee and the Holy Spirit.”

Lucia’s sister Rafaella appreciated the wide variety of staff at Camp Guggenheim. “There are younger ones, older ones, single, married. They connect with campers in different ways. They can see themselves in the campers.”

Raphaella’s favorite thing about Camp Guggenheim is the reconciliation service on Wednesday evenings, when there can be as many as 10 priests on-site to hear confessions. Some of the “confessionals” are outside. It is a Camp Guggenheim tradition to have “hug time” after confessions to celebrate the freshness. Rafaella shared that it is “not that common for young people to be that emotional and moved.”

Lucia added that “by Wednesday night the kids crack.” She said the process of preparing and going to confession puts them in a vulnerable and open place, which seems to deepen friendships.

The Bind-Matarazzo sisters’ mom was a camper at Camp Guggenheim, both parents were on staff. It is not uncommon to have second-generation campers at the camp, and in fact that week they had a third-generation camper in attendance.

Several years ago, Lucia and Rafaella recruited their Rice Memorial High School classmate, Miriam Callan, to attend the camp. Miriam is from Waterbury and is a sophomore at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. She shared, “It’s the people who make the place. You leave with the ability to see Christ in people’s faces. Jesus is in you. As counselors, you know the kids take it with them for the rest of their lives.”

Anna Ulager is from Hinesburg. She is the only one of the four who did not attend Camp Guggenheim as a camper. She is a graduate of Mater Christi in Burlington and is now a sophomore at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. Anna said her favorite thing about Camp Guggenheim is the sense of community. “I don’t feel like I’m teaching. I feel like I’m helping kids grow in their relationship with God.”

At the time of our visit, Father Leagon Carlin was serving as chaplain for the week. He is the vice chancellor and the adjutant judicial vicar for the Diocese of Ogdensburg. In the space of 20 minutes we saw him pivot from having lunch with the campers in the dining hall, where he was nominated to be “the wolf” in a lunchtime skit that involved crawling on the floor, to donning his alb and cope for Adoration. In his youth he was a camper at Camp Guggenheim.

Father Carlin spoke highly of the camp, “If you ask anyone who came here, almost to a person, they’re going to say this place changed them for the better, and made them who they are in some way today. And I don’t know that there are very many other places one can say that about.”

All four young woman agreed that the closing Mass
on Friday afternoon is the most joyful but saddest time each week. Everyone is saying their goodbyes and often crying. But in many cases they will be back, returning as campers or staff, and never forgetting their experience at Camp Guggenheim.

About Camp Guggenheim

Camp Guggenheim encompasses 128 acres, with frontage on Lower Saranac Lake in Saranac, New York. It was originally built as a summer lodge for Edmund Guggenheim in 1917, who then donated the property to the Diocese of Ogdensburg in 1963. In 1972 the diocese opened the site as a Catholic co-ed summer camp for teens.

The summer camp schedule is comprised of five week-long sessions. There are four sessions for ages 12 through 15 and one session for ages 16 through 18. The camp plans to add a sixth session in 2027. Attendance ranges between 30 to 80 campers per week, with an average of 60 campers. This year, 45% of the campers were new to Camp Guggenheim.

The camp programming is divided into four core programs: liturgy, waterfront, project adventure, and arts & crafts. While each day’s schedule is different, every day there are opportunities to pray and receive sacraments. Every day there are also opportunities to enjoy the waterfront and spend time outdoors playing games or adventuring. Each evening there is a different special activity, such as a movie, a dance party, a campfire, or a variety show. Camp Director Gabe Gratto said, “it’s the perfect balance between play and pray.”